University of Dublin is a university constituency in Ireland, which has been used to elect members of various legislative bodies including currently Seanad Éireann. Alternative names are Dublin University or Trinity College, Dublin. As it has been in existence since 1603, except for a brief period 1936–37, it could be considered the country's oldest constituency.
| From | To | Chamber | Members |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1613 | 1800 | House of Commons of Ireland | 2 |
| 1801 | 1832 | House of Commons of the United Kingdom | 1 |
| 1832 | 1922 | House of Commons of the United Kingdom | 2 |
| 1921 | 1922 | House of Commons of Southern Ireland | 4 |
| 1922 | 1923 | Dáil Éireann | 4 |
| 1923 | 1937 | Dáil Éireann | 3 |
| 1938 | present | Seanad Éireann | 3 |
Note on official names: (1923) Electoral Act 1923, "Dublin University"; (1938) Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act 1937, "the University of Dublin shall be a constituency (in this Act referred to as the Dublin University constituency)."
This university constituency was first enfranchised as a Parliamentary constituency in 1603. It was given two members in the Parliament of Ireland.
The university was not represented in the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, under the Instrument of Government, after it was established in 1654. Following the restoration of the King in 1660 the Parliament of Ireland was re-established and the constituency again returned two Members of Parliament. See First Protectorate Parliament for the list of Irish constituencies during the Protectorate.
| Dublin University | |
|---|---|
| Former University constituency | |
| for the House of Commons | |
| 1801–1922 |
The Act of Union 1800 provided for the Parliament of Ireland to be merged with the Parliament of Great Britain, to form the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The 300 seats in the Irish House of Commons were reduced to 100 Irish members in the United Kingdom House of Commons. As part of the reduction, the University was only to have one seat in Parliament.
The union took effect on 1 January 1801. There was no new election for the members of the 1st Parliament of the United Kingdom, as the House of Commons was composed of members elected to the previous Parliaments of Ireland and Great Britain.
Irish constituencies with two members to be reduced to one, had their first United Kingdom MP selected by the drawing of lots. The Hon. George Knox was chosen to sit in the House of Commons for the University.
As a result of the Irish part of the Reform Act 1832 the University was given a second seat in Parliament.
Dublin University continued to be represented in the House of Commons until the dissolution of Parliament on 26 October 1922, shortly before the Irish Free State became a dominion outside the United Kingdom on 6 December 1922.
The Government of Ireland Act 1920 established a devolved home rule legislature, within the United Kingdom, for twenty-six Irish counties which were designated Southern Ireland.
Dublin University was given four seats in the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. The seats were filled by Unionist MPs who were returned unopposed. They were the only MPs who attended the abortive first meeting of the House.
The Parliament was dissolved as part of the arrangements under the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1922.
In the United Kingdom general election, 1918 Sinn Féin contested the election on the basis that they would not take seats in the United Kingdom Parliament but would establish a revolutionary assembly in Dublin.
The University was, in Irish republican theory, entitled to return two Teachtaí Dála (known in English as Deputies) in 1918 to serve in the Irish Republic's First Dáil. This revolutionary body assembled on 21 January 1919.
In republican theory every MP elected in Ireland, including two unionists from Dublin University, was a member of the First Dáil. In practice only Sinn Féin members participated.
The First Dáil passed a motion at its last meeting on 10 May 1921, the first three parts of which make explicit the republican view.
The Second Dáil first met on 16 August 1921, thereby dissolving the First Dáil.
Sinn Féin had decided to use the polls for the Northern Ireland House of Commons and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland as an election for the Irish Republic's Second Dáil. No actual voting was necessary in Southern Ireland as all the seats were filled by unopposed returns. Except for this University all other constituencies elected Sinn Féin TDs. The University elected four Independent Unionist members unopposed. As with the First Dáil, those Deputies could have joined the Dáil if they chose.
The Third Dáil elected in 1922 was, in United Kingdom law, the constituent assembly for the Irish Free State. From this time the Dáil represented only the twenty-six Irish counties and not the six counties of Northern Ireland. Non-Sinn Féin Deputies, including those from the University, began to participate in the Dáil.
In the Electoral Act 1923 (No. 12/1923), the Irish Free State defined its own Dáil constituencies. Dublin University was reduced to three seats.
The Constitution (Amendment No. 23) Act 1936 (No. 17/1936) repealed the Irish Free State constitutional provision for University representation in Dáil Éireann, with effect from the next dissolution of the Oireachtas which took place on 14 June 1937.
When Ireland adopted a new constitution, in 1937, this provided for the universities to be represented in a re-established Seanad Éireann (the Free State Seanad having been abolished in 1936).
The Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act 1937 (No. 30/1937) gave effect to the new constitutional provision. The election to the Seanad took place in 1938. The 2nd Seanad first met on 27 April 1938.
Dublin University sends three members to the Seanad.
Recent reform proposals to the Seanad may lead to the end of university representation or to its modification to permit the graduates of other tertiary educational establishments than Dublin University and the National University of Ireland to participate in university Seanad elections. No decision has yet been made.
This constituency was the non-territorial University constituency of Dublin University also sometimes referred to as Trinity College, Dublin.
A Topographical Directory of Ireland, published in 1837, describes the Parliamentary history of the university.
By charter of James I. the university returned two members to the Irish parliament till the Union; after which time it returned only one member to the Imperial parliament, till the recent Reform act, since which it has returned two. The right of election, which was originally vested solely in the provost, fellows, and scholars, has, by the same act, been extended to all members of the age of 21 years, who had obtained, or should hereafter obtain, a fellowship, scholarship, or the degree of Master of Arts, and whose names should be on the college books : members thus qualified, who had removed their names from the books, were allowed six months to restore them, on paying a fee of £2, and such as continued their names, merely to qualify them to vote, pay annually to the college the sum of £1, or a composition of £5 in lieu of annual payment. The number of names restored under this provision was 3005, and at present the constituency amounts to 3135. The provost is the returning officer.
When electoral registration was introduced, in 1832, there were 2,073 voters on the register. It is likely that most of them were also qualified to vote in one or more of the territorial constituencies. It was characteristic of the University constituencies in the UK Parliament that plural voting was the norm.
In 1918, the electorate was extended to include all registered graduates of the University and some female voters were allowed for the first time. Male graduates qualified to vote if they had attained the age of 21 but female ones had to be at least 30 to acquire the franchise. There were 4,541 voters registered for the 1918 general election. Most, if not all, of those electors would have been plural voters also entitled to vote in a territorial constituency.
In the Electoral Act 1923 (No. 12/1923), the Irish Free State abolished plural voting for University constituencies and enfranchised women on the same terms as men. Qualified voters could then decide whether to register for a University or a territorial constituency but not for both. Universal adult suffrage was not introduced in the UK until 1928. Plural voting was not abolished for UK elections until 1950.
The qualifications for an elector to be registered as a University voter were set out in Section 1(2)(c) of the 1923 Act. They were to be registered at "the University constituency comprising a university in which he or she has received a degree other than an honorary degree or, in the case of the University of Dublin, has received such degree as aforesaid, or obtained a foundation scholarship, or, if a woman, obtained a non-foundation scholarship".
Throughout the history of this constituency, during the union, it supported (usually very strongly) Tory, Conservative and Unionist candidates (including the Liberal Unionist and Independent Unionist members).
The only partial exception was the tenure of the Whig MP, William Plunket, 1st Baron Plunket, in 1812-1827. It should be noted that Plunket accepted office in what in retrospect are considered Tory governments. Given the state of the party system in the early 19th century, when William Pitt the Younger (now considered a Tory Prime Minister) called himself a Whig, it is not too surprising that Plunket was his Attorney General for Ireland. It is surprising that Plunket did not follow most of Pitt's supporters in calling himself a Tory soon after the Prime Minister's death. It is astonishing that a Whig was again Attorney General for Ireland in the Earl of Liverpool's very Tory ministry between 1822 and 1827. Plunket was perhaps more an 18th century than a 19th century Whig, so as to be acceptable to the university electorate.
Since 1922, most of the representatives of the University have been Independent members of the Oireachtas.
Until 1918 and for the 1919 by-election, in elections to fill a single seat, the first past the post system applied.
In two-member elections before 1918, the bloc voting system was used. Voters could cast a vote for one or two candidates, as they chose. The two candidates with the largest number of votes were elected.
In 1918 and for all elections since 1921, the members were elected by the single transferable vote system of proportional representation.
Key to parties: C Conservative, Ind N Independent Nationalist, Ind U Independent Unionist, L Liberal, LU Liberal Unionist, N Nationalist (Irish Parliamentary Party), T Tory, U Unionist, W Whig. Changes of party name in 1832 and 1886 are indicated i.e. (T,C) and (C,U).
| First Seat (1801–1922) | Second Seat (1832–1922) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Name (Party) | Born | Died | From | To | Name (Party) | Born | Died |
| 1801 | 1807 | Hon. George Knox (T) | 14 January 1765 | 13 June 1827 | |||||
| 1807 | 1812 | John Leslie Foster (T) | c 1781 | 10 July 1842 | |||||
| 1812 | 1827 | William Conyngham Plunket (W) | 1 July 1764 | 5 January 1854 | |||||
| 1827 | 1830 | John Wilson Croker (T) | 20 December 1780 | 10 August 1857 | |||||
| 1830 | 1841 | Thomas Langlois Lefroy (T,C) | 8 January 1776 | 4 May 1869 | |||||
| 1832 | 1848 | Sir Frederick Shaw, 3rd Baronet (C) | 11 December 1799 | 30 June 1876 | |||||
| 1842 | 1842 | Joseph Devonsher Jackson (C) | 23 June 1783 | 19 December 1857 | |||||
| 1843 | 1859 | George Alexander Hamilton (C) | 29 August 1802 | 17 September 1871 | |||||
| 1848 | 1858 | Joseph Napier (C) | 26 December 1804 | 9 December 1882 | |||||
| 1859 | 1866 | James Whiteside (C) | 12 August 1804 | 25 November 1876 | 1858 | 1870 | Anthony Lefroy (C) | 1800 | 12 January 1890 |
| 1866 | 1867 | John Edward Walsh (C) | 12 November 1816 | 20 October 1869 | |||||
| 1867 | 1867 | Hedges Eyre Chatterton (C) | 5 July 1819 | 30 August 1910 | |||||
| 1867 | 1868 | Robert Warren (C) | 1817 | 24 September 1897 | |||||
| 1868 | 1875 | John Thomas Ball (C) | 24 July 1815 | 17 March 1898 | |||||
| 1870 | 1895 | David Robert Plunket (C,U) | 3 December 1838 | 22 August 1919 | |||||
| 1875 | 1885 | Edward Gibson (C) | 4 September 1837 | 22 May 1913 | |||||
| 1885 | 1887 | Hugh Holmes (C,U) | 17 February 1840 | 19 April 1916 | |||||
| 1887 | 1892 | Dodgson Hamilton Madden (U) | 28 March 1840 | 6 March 1928 | |||||
| 1892 | 1918 | Sir Edward Henry Carson (U) | 9 February 1854 | 22 October 1935 | |||||
| 1895 | 1903 | William Edward Hartpole Lecky (LU) | 26 March 1838 | 22 October 1903 | |||||
| 1903 | 1917 | James Henry Mussen Campbell (U) | 4 April 1851 | 22 March 1931 | |||||
| 1918 | 1922 | Sir Robert Henry Woods (Ind U) | 1865 | 8 September 1938 | |||||
| 1917 | 1919 | Arthur Warren Samuels (U) | 19 May 1852 | 11 May 1925 | |||||
| 1919 | 1922 | William Morgan Jellett (U) | 19 May 1857 | 27 October 1936 | |||||
Note: MPs in the House of Commons of Southern Ireland 1921–1922 are included as they were potential members of the Second Dáil Éireann. They first took their seats in the "Provisional Parliament" or "Third Dáil" in September 1922
Key to parties: Ind U Independent Unionist, Ind Independent
| From | To | Name | Party | Born | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 1937 | Ernest Alton | Ind U, Ind | 1873 | 18 February 1952 |
| 1921 | 1933 | Sir James Craig | Ind U, Ind | 12 July 1933 | |
| 1921 | 1923 | Gerald Fitzgibbon | Ind U, Ind | 6 December 1942 | |
| 1921 | 1937 | William Thrift | Ind U, Ind | 28 February 1870 | 23 April 1942 |
| 1933 | 1937 | Robert Rowlette | Ind | 1873 | 13 October 1944 |
| From | To | Name | Party | Born | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | 1943 | Ernest Alton | Ind | 1873 | 18 February 1952 |
| 1938 | 1943 | Joseph Johnston | Ind | 1972 | |
| 1938 | 1944 | Robert Rowlette | Ind | 1873 | 13 October 1944 |
| 1943 | 1959 | William Fearon | Ind | January 1959 | |
| 1943 | 1947 | T. C. Kingsmill Moore | Ind | 1893 | 21 January 1979 |
| 1944 | 1948 | Joseph Johnston | Ind | 1972 | |
| 1947 | 1951 | Joseph Warwick Bigger | Ind | 11 September 1891 | 17 August 1951 |
| 1948 | 1969 | William Bedell Stanford | Ind | 16 January 1910 | 30 December 1984 |
| 1951 | 1951 | Frederick Budd | Ind | 11 February 1904 | 1976 |
| 1952 | 1954 | William J.E. Jessop | Ind | 13 July 1902 | 11 June 1980 |
| 1954 | 1961 | Owen Sheehy-Skeffington | Ind | 19 May 1909 | 7 June 1970 |
| 1960 | 1973 | William J.E. Jessop | Ind | 13 July 1902 | 11 June 1980 |
| 1961 | 1965 | J. N. Ross | Ind | ||
| 1965 | 1970 | Owen Sheehy-Skeffington | Ind | 19 May 1909 | 7 June 1970 |
| 1969 | 1989 | Mary Robinson | Ind, Lab, Ind | 21 May 1944 | |
| 1970 | 1981 | Trevor West | FF | ||
| 1973 | 1977 | Noël Browne | SLP | 20 December 1915 | 23 May 1997 |
| 1977 | 1979 | Conor Cruise O'Brien | Ind | 3 November 1917 | 18 December 2008 |
| 1979 | 1982 | Catherine McGuinness | Ind | 14 November 1934 | |
| 1981 | 2011 | Shane Ross | Ind | 11 July 1949 | |
| 1982 | 1982 | Trevor West | FF | ||
| 1983 | 1987 | Catherine McGuinness | Ind | 14 November 1934 | |
| 1987 | 1993 | Carmencita Hederman | Ind | 23 October 1939 | |
| 1987 | Incumbent | David Norris | Ind | 1 July 1944 | |
| 1993 | 2007 | Mary Henry | Ind | 11 May 1940 | |
| 2007 | Incumbent | Ivana Bacik | Ind, Lab | 1968 | |
| 2011 | Incumbent | Sean Barrett | Ind |
Note: Robinson was a Labour Party Senator 1977–1981.
From 1832 (when registers of electors were first prepared) a turnout figure is given, for the percentage of the registered electors who voted. If the number of registered electors eligible to take part in a contested election is unknown, then the last known electorate figure is used to calculate an estimated turnout. If the numbers of registered electors and electors taking part in the poll are known, an exact turnout figure is calculated. In two member bloc vote elections (in which an elector could cast one or two votes as he chose), where the exact number of electors participating is unknown, an estimated turnout figure is given. This is calculated by dividing the total number of votes cast by two. To the extent that electors used only one of their votes the estimated turnout figure is an underestimate.
House of Commons (United Kingdom)
|
1800s – 1810s – 1820s – 1830s – 1840s – 1850s – 1860s – 1870s – 1880s – 1890s – 1900s – 1910s – |
| 1921 general election: Dublin University[1] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Ernest Alton | Unopposed | N/A | 1 | ||
| Independent | Sir James Craig | Unopposed | N/A | 2 | ||
| Independent | Gerald Fitzgibbon | Unopposed | N/A | 3 | ||
| Independent | William Thrift | Unopposed | N/A | 4 | ||
| 1922 general election: Dublin University[2] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Ernest Alton | Unopposed | N/A | 1 | ||
| Independent | Sir James Craig | Unopposed | N/A | 2 | ||
| Independent | Gerald Fitzgibbon | Unopposed | N/A | 3 | ||
| Independent | William Thrift | Unopposed | N/A | 4 | ||
| Electorate: 1,150 Valid: Quota: Turnout: | ||||||
| 1923 general election: Dublin University[3] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Ernest Alton | Unopposed | N/A | 1 | ||
| Independent | Sir James Craig | Unopposed | N/A | 2 | ||
| Independent | William Thrift | Unopposed | N/A | 3 | ||
| Electorate: 1,400 Valid: Quota: Turnout: | ||||||
| June 1927 general election: Dublin University[4] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | % 1st Pref | Count 1 | Count 2 | Count 3 | |
| Independent | William Thrift | 38.6 | 614 | |||
| Independent | James Craig | 22.4 | 356 | 415 | ||
| Independent | Ernest Alton | 18.1 | 287 | 386 | 398 | |
| Independent | Bolton C. Waller | 20.9 | 332 | 386 | 391 | |
| Electorate: 2,069 Valid: 1,589 Quota: 398 Turnout: 76.8% | ||||||
| September 1927 general election: Dublin University[5] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Ernest Alton | Unopposed | N/A | 1 | ||
| Independent | Sir James Craig | Unopposed | N/A | 2 | ||
| Independent | William Thrift | Unopposed | N/A | 3 | ||
| 1932 general election: Dublin University[6] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Ernest Alton | Unopposed | N/A | 1 | ||
| Independent | Sir James Craig | Unopposed | N/A | 2 | ||
| Independent | William Thrift | Unopposed | N/A | 3 | ||
| 1933 general election: Dublin University[7] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Ernest Alton | Unopposed | N/A | 1 | ||
| Independent | Sir James Craig | Unopposed | N/A | 2 | ||
| Independent | William Thrift | Unopposed | N/A | 3 | ||
| Electorate: 3,260 Valid: Quota: Turnout: | ||||||
Following the death of independent TD Sir James Craig, a by-election was held on 13 October 1933. The seat was won by the independent candidate Robert Rowlette.
| 1933 by-election: Dublin University[8] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Robert Rowlette | Unopposed | N/A | 1 | ||
| 1944 Seanad election: Dublin University | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | T.C. Kingsmill Moore | 755 | 32.9 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | William Fearon | 621 | 16.0 | 2 | 1 | |
| Independent | Joseph Johnston | 437 | 19.0 | 3 | 4 | |
| Independent | Robert Rowlette | 419 | 18.2 | |||
| Independent | E. O'Mahoney | 65 | 2.8 | |||
| Electorate: 3,886 Valid: 2,297 Quota: 575 Turnout: 59.1%[9] | ||||||
| 2002 Seanad election: Dublin University | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | David Norris | 3,493 | 24.5 | 1 | 5 | |
| Independent | Shane Ross | 3,465 | 24.3 | 2 | 5 | |
| Independent | Mary Henry | 2,123 | 14.9 | 3 | 10 | |
| Independent | Ivana Bacik | 1,591 | 11.2 | |||
| Independent | Sean Barrett | 994 | 7.0 | |||
| Independent | Maurice Gueret | 780 | 5.5 | |||
| Independent | Rosaleen McDonagh | 733 | 5.2 | |||
| Independent | P.J. O'Meara | 265 | 1.9 | |||
| Independent | David Martin | 212 | 1.5 | |||
| Independent | Prabu Kulkarni | 185 | 1.3 | |||
| Independent | Gerard McHugh | 156 | 1.1 | |||
| Independent | Anthony O'Donnell | 142 | 1.0 | |||
| Independent | Declan Boland | 98 | 0.7 | |||
| Electorate: 38,488 Valid: 14,237 Quota: 3,560 Turnout: 37.0% | ||||||
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